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An unforeseen polymorph of coronene by the application of magnetic fields during crystal growth

  • University of Bristol
  • Radboud University Nijmegen

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Abstract

The continued development of novel drugs, proteins, and advanced materials strongly rely on our ability to self-assemble molecules in solids with the most suitable structure (polymorph) in order to exhibit desired functionalities. The search for new polymorphs remains a scientific challenge, that is at the core of crystal engineering and there has been a lack of effective solutions to this problem. Here we show that by crystallizing the polyaromatic hydrocarbon coronene in the presence of a magnetic field, a polymorph is formed in a β-herringbone structure instead of the ubiquitous γ-herringbone structure, with a decrease of 35° in the herringbone nearest neighbour angle. The β-herringbone polymorph is stable, preserves its structure under ambient conditions and as a result of the altered molecular packing of the crystals, exhibits significant changes to the optical and mechanical properties of the crystal.
Original languageEnglish
Article number11555
Pages (from-to)1-7
Number of pages7
JournalNature Communications
Volume7
Early online date10 May 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 May 2016

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